Replacing Blow Down Valve

Mischievousjoe

Hi all, so heres the situation. We just bought a new house about a month ago, and it has a fairly old Crown Jamaica gas powered steam boiler.

Needless to say I've been doing a lot of research on steam systems since we moved in.

Now heres the problem : The blow down valve, which is connected to the low water cuttoff is corroded and leaking significantly, to the tune of filling a bucket every 7 or 8 hours.

Is replacing this the best option? and is this something I can reasonably do myself? (moderatley handy, butno expert)
Whats the best way to do this without scalding myself?

any help is appreciated

Unknown

I'd suggest,

hiring a pro and letting them go through the whole thing for you.

Phil_17

leaking blow down

eventually you will be able to do this simple repair yourself however the best present course of action is to hire a pro and have him check everything over.
do a search on this site for postings on the subject of steam pressure and make sure you get the pressure as LOW as recommended here--ounces--not pounds.
also check venting
encourage your pro to visit this site and gather new knowlege as he may be a hot water man and have less experience with steam.
once your steam system is properly set up, you will love it!
i never knew how quiet a good 1-pipe system could be until i worked through the various problems of deferred maintainance following the instalation of a new boiler,mostly with the help of this site!
it would be a good idea to get this leak stopped asap to prevent too much oxygen from getting in the boiler.in a pinch you could always put a 2nd ball valve on the end of the nipple coming out of the lwco--but remember this device must be blown down very frequently especialy in the first few months of ownership as the boiler is somewhat unknown to you.good luck--nbc